Novel N-pyrocatechoyl and N-pyrogalloyl hydrazone antioxidants endowed with cytotoxic and antibacterial activity.

Over the years, pharmacological agents bearing antioxidant merits arose as beneficial in the prophylaxis and treatment of various health conditions. Hazardous effects of radical species hyperproduction disrupt normal cell functioning, thus increasing the possibility for the development of various oxidative stress-associated disorders, such as cancer. Contributing to the efforts for efficient antioxidant drug discovery, a thorough in vitro and in silico assessment of antioxidant properties of 14 newly synthesized N-pyrocatechoyl and N-pyrogalloyl hydrazones (N-PYRs) was accomplished. All compounds exhibited excellent antioxidant potency against the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical. The extensive in silico analysis revealed multiple favorable features of N-PYRs to inactivate harmful radical species, which supported the obtained in vitro results. Also, in silico experiments provided insights into the preferable antioxidant pathways. Prompted by these findings, the cytotoxicity effects and the influence on the redox status of cancer HCT-116 cells and healthy fibroblasts MRC-5 were evaluated. These investigations exposed four analogs exhibiting both cytotoxicity and selectivity toward cancer cells. Furthermore, the frequently uncovered antimicrobial potency of hydrazone-type hybrids encouraged investigations on G+ and G- bacterial strains, which revealed the antibacterial potency of several N-PYRs. These findings highlighted the N-PYRs as excellent antioxidant agents endowed with cytotoxic and antibacterial features.

Novel seleno-hydantoin palladium(II) complex - antimigratory, cytotoxic and prooxidative potential on human colon HCT-116 and breast MDA-MB-231 cancer cells.

Selenium and palladium containing compounds separately exert multifunctional effects on cells. While selenium containing compounds usually exert antioxidative properties, palladium(II) containing compounds are cytotoxic and prooxidative. Here we investigated biological effects of bicyclic seleno-hydantoin cis-7a-ethyl-5-methyl-5-phenylselanylmethyl-tetrahydro-pyrrolo[1,2-c]imidazole-1,3-dione (Hid-Se), and its palladium(II) complex, trans-bis-(cis-7a-ethyl-5-methyl-5-phenylselanylmethyl-tetrahydro-pyrrolo[1,2-c]imidazole-1,3-dionato) palladium(II) chloride ((Hid-Se)2Pd) on human colon HCT-116 and breast MDA-MB-231 cancer cell lines. Hid-Se and (Hid-Se)2Pd showed prooxidative and cytotoxic character. In all performed experiments (Hid-Se)2Pd proved to be more active, i.e. this substance exerted greater prooxidative effect, cytotoxicity and influence on cell migration potential. Even though Hid-Se and (Hid-Se)2Pd enhanced migration of HCT-116 cells, very important feature of these substances is the strong antimigratory potential on metastatic MDA-MB-231 cells.

Antioxidative and antiproliferative evaluation of 2-(phenylselenomethyl)tetrahydrofuran and 2-(phenylselenomethyl)tetrahydropyran.

PURPOSE: To determine the antioxidant and antiproliferative influence of 2-(phenylselenomethyl)tetrahydrofuran (1a) and 2-(phenylselenomethyl)tetrahydropyran (2a) on colon cancer cell line HCT-116 and breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-231. METHODS: Cell viability was monitored in a dose-dependent manner using MTT assay. The concentration of superoxide anion radical (O2 •(-)) was determined spectrophotometrically. Spectrophotometric determination of nitrites (NO2 -) was performed by using the Griess method. Determination of total glutathione (GSH) was also performed spectrophotometrically. RESULTS: HCT-116 cell line was more sensitive to the effects of the investigated substances than MDA-MB-231 cell line. Also, it was noticed that 1a produced greater effect compared to 2a. Moreover, both investigated compounds decreased to a certain degree the oxidative stress by decreasing the O2•(-) and thus the peroxynitrite concentration. At the same time, 1a and 2a acted more efficiently in promoting the endogenous antioxidative capacities (increased GSH concentration) providing better self-defence capabilities for cells. CONCLUSION: Our findings showed that the investigated selenium compounds play an important role in reducing the levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS); therefore, we believe that, as antioxidants, they could prevent the processes arising as a consequence of oxidative stress, including cancer.